Genomes of the rice pest brown planthopper and its endosymbionts reveal complex complementary contributions for host adaptation

Abstract

BackgroundThe brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens, the most destructive pest of rice, is a typical monophagous herbivore that feeds exclusively on rice sap, which migrates over long distances. Outbreaks of it have re-occurred approximately every three years in Asia. It has also been used as a model system for ecological studies and for developing effective pest management. To better understand how a monophagous sap-sucking arthropod herbivore has adapted to its exclusive host selection and to provide insights to improve pest control, we analyzed the genomes of the brown planthopper and its two endosymbionts.ResultsWe describe the 1.14 gigabase planthopper draft genome and the genomes of two microbial endosymbionts that permit the planthopper to forage exclusively on rice fields. Only 40.8% of the 27,571 identified Nilaparvata protein coding genes have detectable shared homology with the proteomes of the other 14 arthropods included in this study, reflecting large-scale gene losses including in evolutionarily conserved gene families and biochemical pathways. These unique genomic features are functionally associated with the animal’s exclusive plant host selection. Genes missing from the insect in conserved biochemical pathways that are essential for its survival on the nutritionally imbalanced sap diet are present in the genomes of its microbial endosymbionts, which have evolved to complement the mutualistic nutritional needs of the host.ConclusionsOur study reveals a series of complex adaptations of the brown planthopper involving a variety of biological processes, that result in its highly destructive impact on the exclusive host rice. All these findings highlight potential directions for effective pest control of the planthopper.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13059-014-0521-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A Cripavirus in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens

“…The reason why and mechanism by which the BPH coexists with numerous viruses is unclear, but this phenomenon indicates that the BPH can host many viruses. With the sequencing and analysis of the BPH genome (Xue et al, 2014), which has provided a considerable amount of information on BPH, this insect can be a good model for investigating the coevolution of viruses in hemipteran insects.…”

Virulensi Wereng Batang Cokelat (Nilaparvata lugens Stål) dan Strategi Pengelolaannya

“…Adanya variasi individual di dalam biotipe telah membawa kajian genetik terdahulu pada kesimpulan bahwa virulensi WBC dikendalikan oleh banyak gen (Cheng 1985;Sogawa 1981;Tanaka 1999), sedangkan analisis genetik terbaru menunjukkan bahwa virulensi WBC dikendalikan secara monogenik (Jing et al 2014;Kobayashi et al 2014). Draf sekuen genom WBC berikut genom YLS dan bakteri simbion telah mengungkap saling ketergantungan ketiga organisme dalam mendapatkan nutrisi dari tanaman (Xue et al 2014).…”

“…Serangga ini merupakan organisme diploid dengan jumlah kromosom 30 (28 autosom dengan 2 kromosom X pada betina, atau 1 kromosom X dan 1 kromosom Y pada jantan (Noda 1990) dan ukuran genomnya sebesar 1,2 Gbp (Xue et al 2014). Rekonstruksi filogenetik menggunakan 318 gen-gen ortholog dengan 15 serangga dari taksa berbeda menunjukkan bahwa WBC berada dalam satu gerombol dengan serangga penusuk pengisap Rhodnius prolixus yang termasuk ke dalam ordo Hemiptera sehingga WBC dikeluarkan dari ordo Homoptera dan dimasukkan ke dalam ordo Hemiptera (Xue et al 2014).…”

“…Rekonstruksi filogenetik menggunakan 318 gen-gen ortholog dengan 15 serangga dari taksa berbeda menunjukkan bahwa WBC berada dalam satu gerombol dengan serangga penusuk pengisap Rhodnius prolixus yang termasuk ke dalam ordo Hemiptera sehingga WBC dikeluarkan dari ordo Homoptera dan dimasukkan ke dalam ordo Hemiptera (Xue et al 2014).…”

Insulin receptors and wing dimorphism in rice planthoppers

“…The BPH system was chosen for three primary reasons. First, we have recently sequenced and assembled its genome [12], which will provide an avenue for disentangling the gene networks underpinning wing dimorphism as well as its physiology at the molecular level. Second, susceptibility of the BPH to RNA interference (RNAi) [13] allows us to interrogate gene function easily.…”